Lion Motif
Footnotes:
[26] Margites.
[27] Aristophanes.
[28] Ennius.
[29] ——clarumq; facem præferre pudori,Juv. S.1.
[30]SeeVarro's Character inCicero's Academics.
[31]Epode6.
[32]Alludes to this Couplet in his second Satire,Compositum jus fasq; animi, sanctiq; recessus,Mentis, & incoctum generoso pectus honesto.
[33]See his first Satire ofNero's Verses,&c.
[34] Juvenal.
[35]TheCæsarsof the EmperorJulian.
[36] Lucian's True History.
[37] Roscommon, Revers'd.
[38]Dr. Garthtook care of Mr.Dryden's Funeral, which some Noblemen, who undertook it, had neglected.
[39] Three Booksellers.
[40] Coimbria's comments.Colleg. Conimbricense,a Society inSpain,which publish'd tedious explanations ofAristotle.
[41] Soncinas,a Schoolman.
[42] Sa (Eman. de)SeePaschal's Mystery of Jesuitism.
[43]Pompeius, tenui jugulos aperire susurro. Juv. S. 4.Flet, si lacrymas aspexit amici, Nec dolet. S. 3.
[44]——Noverat illeLuxuriam Imperii veteris, noctesq; NeronisJam medias, aliamq; famem. Juv. S. 4.
[45] Et chaque Acte en fa pièce & una pièce entière.Boil.
[46]'When a poor Genius has labour'd much, he judges well not to expect the Encomiums of the Publick: for these are not his due. Yet for fear his drudgery shou'd have no recompense, God (of his goodness) has given him a personal Satisfaction. To envy him in this wou'd be injustice beyond barbarity itself: Thus the same Deity (who is equally just in all points) has given Frogs the comfort of Croaking,&cLe Pere Gerasse Sommes Theol. L. 2.
[47] Platocalls this an Ignorance of a dark and dangerous Nature, under appearance of the greatest Wisdom.
[48] Gregory Nazianz:a Father at the beginning of the Fourth Century. He writ two most bitter Satires (or Invectives) against the EmperorJulian.
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When first I publish'd my Satires, I was thoroughly prepar'd for that Noise and Tumult which the Impression of my Book has rais'd uponParnassus. I knew that the Tribe of Poets, and above all, Bad Poets, are a People ready to take fire; and that Minds so covetous of Praise wou'd not easily digest any Raillery, how gentle soever. I may farther say to my advantage, that I have look'd with theEyes of a Stoick upon the Defamatory Libels that have been publish'd against me. Whatever Calumnies they have been willing to asperse me with, whatever false Reports they have spread of my Person, I can easily forgive those little Revenges; and ascribe 'em to the Spleen of a provok'd Author, who finds himself attack'd in the most sensible part of a Poet, I mean, in his Writings.
But I own I was a little surpriz'd at the whimsical Chagrin of certainReaders, who instead of diverting themselves with this Quarrel ofParnassus, of which they might have been indifferent Spectators, chose to make themselves Parties, and rather to take pet with Fools, than laugh with Men of Sense. 'Twas to comfort these People, that I compos'd my ninth Satire; where I think I have shewn clearly enough, that without any prejudice either to one's Conscience or the Government, one may think bad Verses bad Verses, and have full right to be tir'd with reading a silly Book. But since these Gentlemen have spoken of the liberty I have taken ofNamingthem, as an Attempt unheard-of, and without Example, and since Examples can't well be put into Rhyme; 'tis proper to say one word to inform 'em of a thing of which they alone wou'd gladly be ignorant, and to make them know, that in comparison of all my brother Satirists, I have been a Poet of great Moderation.
To begin withLuciliusthe Inventer of Satire; what liberty, or rather what license did he not indulge in his Works? They were not only Poets and Authors whom he attack'd, they were People of the first Quality inRome, and Consular Persons. HoweverScipioandLæliusdid not judge that Poet (so determin'd a Laugher as he was) unworthy of their Friendship; and probably upon occasion no more refus'd him, than they didTerence, their advice on his Writings: They never thought of espousing the part ofLupusandMetellus, whom he ridicul'd in his Satires, nor imagin'd they gave up any part of their own Character in leaving to his Mercy all the Coxcombs of the Nation.
——numLælius,aut quiDuxit ab oppressa meritum Carthagine nomen,Ingenio offensi, aut læso doluereMetelloFamosisveLupoco-operto versibus?
In a word,Luciliusspar'd neither the Small nor the Great, and often from the Nobles and the Patricians he stoop'd to the Lees of the People.
Primores populi arripuit populumq; tributim.
It may be said thatLuciliusliv'd in a Republick where those sort of liberties might be permitted. Look then uponHorace, who liv'd under an Emperor in the beginnings of a Monarchy (the most dangerous time in the world to laugh) who is there whom he has not satiriz'd by name?Fabiusthe great Talker,Tigelliusthe Fantastick,Nasidienusthe Impertinent,Nomentanusthe Debauchee, and whoever came at his Quill's end. They may answer that these are fictitious Names: an excellent Answer indeed! As if those whom he attack'd were no better known; as if wewere ignorant thatFabiuswas aRomanKnight who compos'd a Treatise of Law, thatTigelliuswas a Musician favour'd byAugustus, thatNasidienus Rufuswas a famous Coxcomb inRome, thatCassius Nomentanuswas one of the most noted Rakes inItaly. Certainly those who talk in this manner, are not conversant with ancient Writers, nor extreamly instructed in the affairs of the Court ofAgustus.Horaceis not contented with calling people by theirNames; he seems so afraid they should be mistaken, that he gives us even their Sir-names; nay tells us the Trade they follow'd, or the Employments they exercis'd. Observe for Example how he speaks ofAufidius LuscusPrætor ofFundi.
Fundos Aufidio LuscoPrætore libenterLinquimus, insani ridentes præmia scribæPrætextam & latum clavum,&c.
We were glad to leave(says he)the Town ofFundiof which oneAufidius Luscuswas Præator, but it was not without laughing heartily at the folly of this man, who having been a Clerk, took upon him the Airs of a Senator and a Person of Quality.Could a Man be describ'd more precisely? and would not the Circumstances only be sufficient to make him known? Will they say thatAufidiuswas then dead?Horacespeaks of a Voyage made some time since. And how will my Censors account for this other passage?
TurgidusAlpinusjugulat dumMemnona,dumqueDiffingitRheniluteum caput: hæc ego ludo.
While that Bombast PoetAlpinus,murdersMemnonin his Poem, and bemires himself in his description of theRhine,I divert my self in these Satires.'Tis plain from hence, thatAlpinusliv'd in the time whenHoracewrit these Satires: and supposeAlpinuswas an imaginary Name, cou'd the Author of the Poem ofMemnonbe taken for another?Horace, they may say, liv'd under the reign of the most Polite of all the Emperors; but do we live under a Reign less polite? and would they have a Prince who has so many Qualities in common withAugustus, either less disgusted than he at bad Books, or more rigorous towards those who blame them?
Let us next examinePersius, who writ in the time ofNero: He not only Raillies the Works of the Poets of his days, but attacks the Verses of the Emperor himself: For all the World knows, and all the Court ofNerowell knew, that those four lines,
Torva Mimalloneis, &c.
whichPersiusso bitterly ridicules in his first Satire, wereNero's own Verses; and yet we have no account thatNero(so much a Tyrant as he was) caus'dPersiusto be punish'd; Enemy as he was to Reason, and fond as every one knows of his own Works, he was gallant enough to take this Raillery on his Verses, and did not think that the Emperor on this occasion should assert the Character of the Poet.
Juvenal, who flourish'd underTrajan, shews a little more respect towards the great Men of his age; and was contented to sprinkle the gall of hisSatire on those of the precedent reign. But as for theWriters, he never look'd for them further than his own time. At the very beginning of his Work you find him in a very bad humor against all hiscotemporary Scriblers: askJuvenalwhat oblig'd him to take up his Pen? he was weary of hearing theTheseideofCodrus, theOrestesof this man, and theTelephusof that, and all the Poets (as he elsewhere says) who recited their Verses in the Month ofAugust,
——&Augustorecitantes Mense Poetas.
So true it is that the right of blaming bad Authors, is an ancient Right, pass'd into a Custom, among all the Satirists, and allow'd in all ages.
To come from the Ancients to the Moderns.Regnierwho is almost the only Satirical Poet we have, has in truth been a little more discreet than the rest; nevertheless he speaks very freely ofGalletthe famous Gamester, who paid his Creditors withSeptandQuatorze, and of theSieur de Provinswho chang'd his long Cloak into a Doublet, and ofCousinwho run from his house for fear of repairing it, and ofPierre de Puis, and many others.
What will my Critics say to this? When they are ever so little touch'd, they wou'd drive from the Republick of Letters all the Satirical Poets, as so many disturbers of the Peace of the Nation. But what will they say ofVirgil; the wise, the discreetVirgil? who in an Eclog where he has nothing to do withSatire, has made in one Line two Poets for ever ridiculous.
QuiBaviumnon odit, amet tua carminaMœvi.
Let them not say thatBaviusandMœviusin this place aresuppos'd names, since it would be too plainly to give the Lye to the learnedServius, who positively declares the contrary. In a word, what would my Censors do withCatullus,Martial, and all the Poets of Antiquity, who have made no more scruple in this matter thanVirgil? What would they think ofVoiturewho had the conscience to laugh at the expence of the renownedNeuf Germain, tho' equally to be admir'd for the Antiquity of his Beard, and the Novelty of his Poetry? Will they banish fromParnassus, him, and all the ancient Poets, to establish the reputation of Fools and Coxcombs? If so, I shall be very easy in my banishment, and have the pleasure of very good company. Without Raillery, wou'd these Gentlemen really be more wise thanScipioandLelius, more delicate thanAugustus, or more cruel thanNero? But they who are so angry at the Critics, how comes it that they are so merciful to bad Authors? I see what it is that troubles them; they have no mind to be undeceiv'd. It vexes them to have seriously admir'd those Works, which my Satires have expos'd to universal Contempt; and to see themselves condemn'd, to forget in their old Age, those Verses which they got by heart in their Youth, as Master-pieces of Wit. Truly I am sorry for 'em, but where's the help? Canthey expect, that to comply with their particular Taste, we should renounce common Sense? applaud indifferently all the Impertinencies which a Coxcomb shall think fit to throw upon paper? and instead of condemning bad Poets (as they did in certain Countries) to lick out their Writings with their own Tongue, shall Books become for the future inviolable Sanctuaries, where all Blockheads shall be made free Denizens, not to be touch'd without Profanation? I could say much more on this subject; but as I have already treated it in my ninth Satire, I shall thither refer the Reader.
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16. Henry Nevil Payne,The Fatal Jealousie(1673).18. Anonymous, "Of Genius," inThe Occasional Paper, Vol. III, No. 10 (1719), and Aaron Hill, Preface toThe Creation(1720).
19. Susanna Centlivre,The Busie Body(1709).20. Lewis Theobald,Preface to the Works of Shakespeare(1734).22. Samuel Johnson,The Vanity of Human Wishes(1749), and twoRamblerpapers (1750).23. John Dryden,His Majesties Declaration Defended(1681).
26. Charles Macklin,The Man of the World(1792).
31. Thomas Gray,An Elegy Wrote in a Country Churchyard(1751), andThe Eton College Manuscript.
41. Bernard Mandeville,A Letter to Dion(1732).
98.Select Hymns Taken Out of Mr. Herbert's Temple(1697).
104. Thomas D'Urfey,Wonders in the Sun; or,The Kingdom of the Birds(1706).
110. John Tutchin,Selected Poems(1685-1700).111. Anonymous,Political Justice(1736).112. Robert Dodsley,An Essay on Fable(1764).113. T. R.,An Essay Concerning Critical and Curious Learning(1698).114.Two Poems Against Pope: Leonard Welsted,One Epistle to Mr. A. Pope(1730), and Anonymous,The Blatant Beast(1742).
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127-128. Charles Macklin,A Will and No Will, or a Bone for the Lawyers(1746).The New Play Criticiz'd, or The Plague of Envy(1747). Introduction by Jean B. Kern.
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Transcriber's note:The elongated "s" has been modernized.Footnote marker placement has been made consistent.Extra line spacing is intentional to represent both the end of a quote and the beginning of a new paragraph as presented in the original.